Hubble Finds Supernova Star System Linked To "Zombie Star"
Washington DC (SPX) Aug 13, 2014 -
Using NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, a team of astronomers has spotted a star system that could have left behind a "zombie star" after an unusually weak supernova explosion.
A supernova typically obliterates the exploding white dwarf, or dying star. On this occasion, scientists believe this faint supernova may have left behind a surviving portion of the dwarf star - a sort of zombie star. ...
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Violent solar system history uncovered by WA meteorite
Perth, Australia (SPX) Aug 13, 2014 -
Curtin University planetary scientists have shed some light on the bombardment history of our solar system by studying a unique volcanic meteorite recovered in Western Australia.
Captured on camera seven years ago falling on the WA side of the Nullarbor Plain, the Bunburra Rockhole Meterorite has unique characteristics that suggest it came from a large asteroid that has never before been i ...
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Cassini Prepares For Its Biggest Remaining Burn
Pasadena CA (JPL) Aug 13, 2014 -
NASA's Cassini spacecraft will execute the largest planned maneuver of the spacecraft's remaining mission on Saturday, Aug. 9. The maneuver will target Cassini toward an Aug. 21 encounter with Saturn's largest moon, Titan.
The main engine firing will last about a minute and will provide a change in velocity of 41 feet per second (12.5 meters per second).
This is the largest maneuver ...
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White dwarfs crashing into neutron stars explain loneliest supernovae
Coventry, UK (SPX) Aug 13, 2014 -
A research team led by astronomers and astrophysicists at the University of Warwick have found that some of the Universe's loneliest supernovae are likely created by the collisions of white dwarf stars into neutron stars.
Dr Joseph Lyman from the University of Warwick is the lead researcher on the paper, The progenitors of calcium-rich transients are not formed in situ, published today by ...
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Payload Integration Begins For Next Arianespace Soyuz Galileo Launch
Paris (SPX) Aug 13, 2014 -
The first of two Galileo navigation satellites to be orbited on Arianespace's August 21 Soyuz flight has been integrated on its payload dispenser system, marking a key step as preparations advance for this medium-lift mission from French Guiana.
Named "Doresa," the spacecraft was installed this month during activity inside the Spaceport's S5A integration hall. It is to be joined on the dis ...
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Astrophysicists Detect Destruction of Three Stars by Black Holes
Moscow, Russia (SPX) Aug 13, 2014 -
Researchers from MIPT and the Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences have reported registering three possible occasions of thetidal destruction of stars by supermassive black holes at the centers of galaxies. Details are given in an article by Ildar Khabibullin and Sergei Sazonov, accepted for publication by the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society journal(a pre ...
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Study Compiles Data on Problem of Sleep Deprivation in Astronauts
Washington DC (SPX) Aug 13, 2014 -
After a long, hard day, who doesn't long for the comfort of a soft mattress and the embrace of a good night's sleep? Still, for many people, a full-night's rest is a rather elusive thing. Factors ranging from stress to competing priorities often prevent us from going to bed early enough to get the proper amount of sleep we need. This reality also is true for astronauts living and working in spac ...
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